Fans believe Fred is Manchester United Player of the Year contender after 2-0 win v Chelsea

The jury was firmly out over Manchester United’s Brazilian midfielder Fred at the beginning of the campaign.

The 26-year-old flattered to deceive during his first season at Old Trafford following his £52 million move from Shakhtar Donetsk.

United fans had high hopes for the Brazil international, who Pep Guardiola reportedly wanted to bring to Manchester City, but he struggled with the intensity of the Premier League during his first 12 months at the club.

“Does he look like what you would expect for £60 million?” former United captain Gary Neville asked after Fred’s first months as a United player. “Does he change a game? Does it look like he’s going to defend your goal? Does it look like he’s going to connect back-to-front? At this moment in time, no.”

The vast majority of United fans were in complete agreement up until this season. Few would have been overly disappointed had the midfielder been moved on last summer.

But, to his credit, Fred has knuckled down and is now one of the first names on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s teamsheet.

United fans have fallen in love with him in recent months thanks largely to his tenacity and work ethic. This is a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and never stops trying, much like former fan favourite Ander Herrera used to prior to his move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Fred hasn’t scored in 32 games this season and has only provided one assist, but many United fans now want him to win some sort of accolade at the club’s end-of-season awards.

Quite a few fans believe he’s now the frontrunner to win the club’s Player of the Year award…

While others think he deserves Most Improved Player - or whatever United’s equivalent award might be…